


You Know Legends Never Die

by Dean_loves_Cas_forever



Series: The Time Of Being Sad Is Over [4]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Adjusting Dan, Busy Phil, Cute Winnie, Fluff, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, cute domestic moments, dad Dan, dad phil, triggers for PTSD, youtuber Phil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-06
Updated: 2018-03-06
Packaged: 2019-03-26 11:58:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13857333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dean_loves_Cas_forever/pseuds/Dean_loves_Cas_forever
Summary: Dan's been home for a few days and he's beginning to learn how to be a civilian once again but there are a few hiccups along the way. Luckily he has his family to help him.





	You Know Legends Never Die

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what it's like to have PTSD and I am making assumptions, this is in no way trying to say that this is what it is like to deal with PTSD and I'm not trying to say I know.  
> I don't think too highly of this one, I like it but it's not great.  
> Title- Emperor's New Clothes

The small family spent the weekend on the sofa, enjoying their family time before reality had to set in on Monday. 

When Monday finally rolled around, Dan and Phil woke up to the abrupt shrilling of Phil's alarm. Dan groaned and turned to bury his face further into Phil's neck. Phil sighed and tapped on his phone blindly until the alarm ceased. Phil moved to sit up but Dan wrapped his arms around Phil's warm, bare waist with a whine. 

"Bear, I need to get up and get breakfast ready for Winnie." Phil chuckled softly. Dan shook his head and held the older man tighter. "I have to, Winnie is back at school." Phil mumbled. Dan slowly lifted his head and peered up at Phil. Phil smiled lovingly at the other and leant down to press their lips together. They didn't care that they'd just woken up, they knew that being with each other was more important than any superficial things. "You can go back to sleep if you want." Phil muttered against Dan's lips.

"No, I want to get up with you." Dan said softly. Phil smiled then ran his hand through Dan's hair before rolling out of the bed. Dan watched fondly as Phil stretched and scratched his head with a yawn. Phil caught Dan's eye and smiled at the man. 

"Can you wake Winnie up?" Phil asked as he approached the door. Dan nodded and stretched. Phil patted the door frame then left the room. Dan looked around their bedroom and smiled. He'd only been home for 3 days so it still took him a few minutes to familiarise himself with his surroundings. He pulled himself out of his bed and shuffled to Winnie's room. Dan knelt down next to Winnie's bed and gently laid his hand on his son's back. 

"Pooh Bear, time to wake up." Dan murmured. Winnie stirred slightly but he turned under his duvet with a mumbled. "Come on, Winnie, you need to get up for school." 

"No, papa, I can't." Winnie muttered into his pillow. The little boy tended to forget that Dan had returned in the morning since it was only two mornings ago that he'd wake up with Dan still in Afghanistan. 

"Why not?" Dan asked, humouring the boy's subconscious.

"Daddy needs to see me go." Winnie whined. Dan chuckled softly and shook his head. 

"Come on, Pooh Bear. Open your eyes, Papa is making breakfast." He said. Winnie shook his head then shuffled towards the edge of his bed so he could press his face into his father's chest. Winnie stilled in Dan's arms as he relaxed, taking deep steadying breaths. Winnie frowned as he inhaled his father's smell. 

"Daddy?" He asked rolling onto his back. Dan smiled at the boy fondly and brushed Winnie's brown curls away from his forehead. "Daddy!" Winnie exclaimed happily. Dan's heart warmed at his reaction and he held the boy tightly when he flung his arms around Dan's neck. Dan lifted Winnie into his arms and carried him into the kitchen, where Phil was stood making their breakfast. Phil looked up at Dan and smiled. He wrapped his arm around Dan's waist and kissed Winnie's cheek. Dan sat with Winnie at the dining table as Phil bought them their breakfast. Phil smiled at the scene then returned to the kitchen to make Winnie's lunch. "Papa?" Winnie called to him.

"Yes, Pooh Bear?" Phil asked turning to the boy. Winnie had a little scowl on his face and Dan was trying to hide his laughter behind his hand.

"Are we having eggs for breakfast because you ate my cereal again?" Winnie asked suspiciously. Dan barked out a laugh and choked slightly on his eggs. 

"Somethings never change." Dan remarked fondly. Phil returned it but shook his head.

"Shut it, you two." Phil said affectionately. Dan winked at his boyfriend and ruffled Winnie's hair. "Your uniform is in the bathroom, Winnie." Phil said as the boy handed him his plate. Dan watched Winnie hurry out of the kitchen to get changed then stood to put his plate in the sink. Phil zipped Winnie's lunchbox up then turned to Dan. He wrapped his arms around Dan and rested his forehead against the other. "Will you take him to school?" Phil asked. 

"Of course." Dan replied. Phil sighed contently then lifted his head to press their lips together. Dan smiled into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Phil's neck while the older man gripped Dan's waist. They kissed gently until they heard Winnie shuffling around in his bedroom. "What are you going to do while I'm taking Winnie to school?" Dan whispered.

"I have to film and edit." Phil muttered softly. 

"Do you want me to do anything while I'm out?" Dan questioned, nuzzling his nose against Phil's. Phil smiled and pecked Dan's lips. 

"Would you mind going to the supermarket? I have a list." Phil asked shyly. Dan smiled at Phil's tone. 

"Of course." 

* * *

Dan had a wide smile on his face as he watched Winnie run into the playground from their car. Winnie waved back at his father excitedly, Dan waved back then started the car. He quickly texted Phil, telling him that he'd dropped Winnie off, then drove to the supermarket. 

Dan walked up and down the aisles with a small smile on his face. He'd missed simple things like thing, even though he preferred to stay inside with his family. Dan pushed his trolley around, stopping to grab the items on Phil's list and some other things he wanted. He was stood in the soft drinks aisle when a loud storage trolley rattled by him. He managed to give the staff member a tight smile but his mind was pulling him away. 

His ears were deafened to the sounds of the supermarket and his eyes glazed over. Flashes of gun fire and buildings being blown to rubble plagued his mind and senses. He looked around desperately, trying to find evidence of the supermarket he could have sworn he was in but instead he found that the sounds and feelings were so real, when he looked around he only saw his fellow soldiers. Dan took some deep breaths and started to crouch. He jumped and tensed when he felt a hand grip his shoulder. He whipped his head around to face the owner of the hand and frowned when he came face to face with a young man wearing a dark maroon uniform. The war slowly faded out of view and the bustle of the supermarket returned. He tried to calm his breathing and take in his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was the two staff members stood in front of him. 

"You alright, sir?" The woman said softly. Dan looked around and sighed. He was definitely in the supermarket. 

"Sorry, sorry. Flashbacks." Dan muttered in explanation. The staff members exchanged a look and nodded. The young man approached his storage trolley and pushed the break down. 

"Were you nearly finished?" The woman asked softly. Dan looked stood shakily and looked into the trolley. He checked the contents of the trolley against his list then nodded. "Ok, let's get you to the checkout." Dan started to nod but remembered what he wanted to get.

"I need to get some flowers." Dan said. He put the bottles of Coke in he trolley then started towards the front of the shop. The woman trailed behind the tall man to ensure he was ok. 

"What flowers were you thinking of?" The woman asked. Dan glanced back at the woman then looked back to the bright roses in front of him.

"Roses have meanings, right? For the different colours." Dan asked, remembering a post he'd seen on Instagram yesterday. 

"Who are you buying for?" She asked. 

"My boyfriend. I've been gone for 4 years and want to remind him how much I love him." Dan mumbled absently. The woman smiled up at him and stepped forward.

"Ok, red symbolises love, beauty, respect and passion, white is for purity and innocence," The woman started to explain, stopping briefly when Dan snorted at purity and innocence. "Red and white are for unity, peach is for appreciation..." Dan listened intently as the woman went through the meanings of the different roses in front of them. 

"Ok, I'm thinking red, white, coral, pink and blue." Dan decided. The woman nodded and arranged the flowers for Dan, with Dan's eye for aesthetic of course. Once Dan had the flowers in hand, the woman directed him with his trolley to an empty checkout near the end of the shop where the young man from earlier was hovering. 

"I don't mean to pry, honey, but you said that you haven't been with your boyfriend in 4 years, why is that?" The woman asked as Dan loaded the items from his trolley and onto the checkout belt. The young man logged onto the register and quietly scanning Dan's shopping while the woman and Dan spoke and packed. 

"I was in Afghanistan." Dan said, glancing up at the woman shyly. Her eyes widened slightly. 

"Your boyfriend is very lucky." She said with a smile. Dan huffed a laugh and shook his head.

"I think I'm the lucky one, he waited for me for 4 years with our son." Dan muttered. The woman smiled softly at him. The young man told Dan the price of his shopping and Dan paid quickly. Dan thanked them and hurried back to his car. 

Dan carried the bags into their apartment in one go; four bags in his left hand and the other two bags in the other along with Phil's flowers. He put the bags on the kitchen floor and carried the flowers with him as he moved to find Phil. 

"Philly? You still filming?" Dan called out softly. 

"No, I'm in the gaming room." Phil replied. Dan smiled and walked down the hall to the gaming room. "Was everything ok?" 

"Yeah it was alright." Phil smiled up at Dan fondly. "I got you these." Dan said holding the flowers out to Phil. 

"Aw, bear. What do they mean?" Phil asked, taking the flowers into his hand and smelling them. 

"Red and white for unity, coral for desire, pink for appreciation and happiness and blue for the unattainable or impossible." Dan recited softly. Phil stood, resting the roses on the desk lovingly, and wrapped his arm around Dan's waist. Phil leant his head on Dan's forehead then pressed their lips together. Dan sighed contently, pressing into his boyfriend further to deepen the kiss. Dan gripped the back of Phil's neck to stop the older man pulling away. Phil smiled into the kiss and tangled his hands into Dan's curls. 

"I missed you." Phil whispered against Dan's lips. Dan nuzzled into the skin of Phil's neck. 

"I missed you so much." Dan returned. Phil's arms tightened around Dan as he pulled him into a hug. 

"Can you pick Winnie up from school?" Phil asked softly so he didn't ruin the intimate moment between them.

"Sure, you haven't got far with editing?" Dan assumed. Phil nodded.

"And I don't know how much work I'll do with you next to me."

* * *

Dan sat in his car waiting for Winnie's school to let them out. He sat in silence trying to control his breathing, he'd been told that these flashbacks may happen when he was discharged but he assumed that he'd be ok and not have any. He heard the distant ringing of the school bell and got out of the car so he could wait for Winnie in the playground. As Dan stood with the mum's and dad's in the playground, he started to hear whispers around him. 

"Who is he?" He heard a mum whisper to another. 

"I've never seen him here before." The second mum replied in a snide tone.

"Do you think he's some sort of paedophile?" A third mum pitched in. 

"He might be a kidnapper." The first mum added. Dan pulled his sleeves over his hands and crossed his arms over his chest. The kids started to run out of the doors and the three mum's stepped in front of Dan discreetly. Dan frowned at them but looked over their heads easily.

"Try not to let him get any of the kids." The third mum whispered not very quietly. Dan scowled at the back of their heads then turned his attention to the doors, looking for his little mini me.

Winnie stopped just outside of the doors and scanned the parent's faces, looking for his Papa. He frowned as he looked over them, where was Papa? He couldn't find his father. He looked over the faces again, more carefully this time, then his face light up excitedly. He ran forward towards his Daddy. He shuffled through the gaps of the parent's legs to get to his dad, who was closer to the back. However, he was stopped by the three mum's.

"Hi Winnie, is your Papa here?" The second mum asked warmly. Winnie shook his head and glanced around them to look at Dan, who as rolling his eyes. 

"No." Winnie replied simply. The women exchanged looks.

"So, who's picking you up?" The first mum asked concerned. 

"Daddy." Winnie replied as though it was obvious, which to him, it was. They frowned at the boy and went to question him but Winnie had had enough of the mum's interruption and pushed through their legs to get to Dan. Dan smiled at the boy and picked him up effortlessly. Winnie nuzzled into Dan's chest and curled up like a cat in his father's arms. 

"I think you need to put Winnie down." The second mum objected quickly. Dan frowned in disbelief and stepped back. 

"Why?" Dan questioned, tightening his arms around Winnie. Winnie accidentally dropped his lunchbox and his bookbag. 

"I dropped my bags." Winnie mumbled to Dan, his arm reaching limply to the bags on the floor. The third mum hurriedly gathered Winnie's bags into her arms then stood back with the other two mum's. 

"Put him down." The second mum repeated. Dan sighed and shook his head, he slowly put Winnie on his feet but held his hand.

"Now, let him go." The third mum added. Dan shook his head and rolled his eyes, he couldn't understand how the women couldn't see the resemblance between him and Winnie. Winnie frowned up at the women then pressed closer to Dan's leg, hiding slightly.

"Don't worry, Winnie, you don't need to be scared, he can't do anything with us all here." The first woman said, her tone was supposed to be reassuring but it just came out as condescending. 

"I'm not going to do anything to him, I'm going to take him home." Dan argued.

"No you're not, you're going to let him go then he's going to wait with us until his dad gets here." The second mum claimed with her hands on her hips.

"I'm his dad!" Dan challenged. The women looked at each other once again and raised their eyebrows. 

"Yeah, like we're going to believe that, Phil's never mentioned you before." The third mum said as though they were best friend's with the older man. Dan huffed a humourless laugh and threw his free arm up in exasperation. Winnie looked up at the woman confused. 

"Papa didn't like to talk about daddy." Winnie defended. Around them, parent's and children alike were watching them curiously but no one else was inputting on the conversation. 

"And why's that, sweetie?" The first mum asked. Winnie looked up at Dan for confirmation, Dan simply nodded with a shrug. 

"Daddy was in the bad place and fighting." Winnie answered innocently. However, the women didn't know what Winnie meant and assumed the worst. There were a few whispers from their surrounding audience but Dan chose to ignore them.

"Winnie, I think you should come here right now." The second mum said urgently. Winnie's head whipped up to Dan confused. 

"Stop." Dan warned when the women started to get braver and step forward to take Winnie.

"What are you going to do?" The first mum asked lowly with her hand out towards him. 

"Are you telling me that you don't see that Winnie looks like me?" Dan questioned incredulously. The women looked him up and down then looked at Winnie. 

"You may be his dad but if you're going to abuse him and Phil, you don't deserve them." The second mum cautioned. Dan frowned and clenched his free hand, taking a deep breath. 

"So, Winnie, come here, honey." The first mum murmured softly, extending her hand towards the boy. 

"No." Dan protested. He went to pull Winnie back but his mind started to pull him back to the war. For the second time that day, gun fire and explosions filled his ears. He turned to his side, trying to see the parents and kids, but instead he saw his soldiers again. He saw them crouching behind bits of a derelict building, shooting at the opposing side. He watched, frozen, as one of his men fell to the ground, blood spreading around his head and shoulders from the neck wound. He started to whisper to himself. "No, no, no, no." He looked around helplessly was he watched a bomb fall on a building, screams coming from inside. 

"Daddy." Called a small voice from next to him. Dan looked around, meeting Winnie's big brown eyes. Dan blinked a few times, soldiers and carnage disappeared and the playground came back into view, his son's face centering him. "Daddy, you aren't in the bad place anymore." Winnie whispered in Dan's ear. Dan looked in his son's eyes, focusing on the boy in front of him. "Daddy, you're home." 

"I'm home." Dan repeated with a nod. Winnie's eyes were sad but concerned. Winnie wrapped his arms around Dan's neck tightly, grounding his father. Dan hid his face in Winnie's little shoulder. Eventually, the quiet whispers filtered back into Dan's hearing. 

"What happened?" 

"What did you do?" 

"Is he ok?" 

"Dan? Dan? Bear?" Dan turned around confused, looked behind him where the voice came from. 

"Phil?" Dan whispered. Phil hurried over to Dan, he fell to his knees beside the younger man. 

"You're ok, it's ok, we're here, you're home." Phil whispered urgently. He ran his hands through Dan's curls and held his against his chest. "What happened?" Phil asked defensively. The three mum's stood back with their hands raised. The rest of the crowd had dispurst bar a few parent's who were worried about Dan. 

"We were just trying to make sure that Winnie was safe." The second mum said softly. 

"Yeah, we've never seen him before, we thought he was trying to kidnap Winnie then we thought he was abusing you and Winnie so we tried to make Winnie safe. Then he went all misty eyed and whispering to himself." The first mum interjected. Phil shook his head and pressed his lips to Dan's temple. 

"I told them that daddy was in the bad place fighting." Winnie told his father. Phil nodded in understanding, he could see how that would sound out of context. Phil helped Dan to his feet and picked Winnie up, the boy whined though and leant towards Dan with his arms out. Dan took Winnie into his arms gratefully and moved closer to his boyfriend. 

"Did it not occur to you that Winnie looks exactly like Dan?" Phil asked. The mum's nodded slowly.

"But we thought he was abusing you and Winnie." The third mum argued softly. 

"When have I or Winnie ever showed signs of abuse?" Phil asked, he was grateful of the women's concerns but at the same time, without any evidence, it was somewhat annoying, especially since Dan just got back. 

"Well you've never spoken about him, neither has Winnie." The first mum said. Phil sighed and looked around, now that their audience knew that the soldier was ok, they had left them to their own devices. He didn't want to just blurt it out but it was nothing to be ashamed of, in fact, Phil was extremely proud of Dan and he was very happy that his boyfriend had come home alive. 

"Maybe we didn't talk about him because he's been deployed in Afghanistan for the last 4 years." With that Phil ushered his family to their car. 

"How'd you get here?" Dan asked when he realised that Phil was getting into the driver's seat. He put Winnie in his car seat then slide into the passenger seat. 

"One of the mum's came and got me." Phil explained as he pulled away. 

"How'd you get there so quickly?" Dan questioned, he reached his hand around his seat to grasp Winnie's leg. The little boy reached down and took his dad's large hand in his little ones, Dan readjusted in his seat so he was facing Phil and Winnie could hold his hand better. 

"You were down for like 10 minutes, Dan. They came to get me while the other mum's were talking to you." Phil said softly, he laid his hand on Dan's thigh comfortingly. 

"10 minutes." Dan muttered to himself. "No, it can't have been." Phil frowned at Dan sympathetically and tightened his grip slightly. They made their way home in silence. Once there, they all curled up on the sofa together, Dan wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and Winnie then leant his head back. 

"It's ok, bear." Phil whispered into the skin of Dan's neck. "We'll do this together." 

Dan took a deep breath and turned his head so he could kiss Phil's head lovingly. He was going to have flashbacks and nightmares but he was going to be alright. He had his family. And that would be enough for them to get through any troubles. They'd gone through worse.


End file.
